Cross Hairs
by Rancora
Summary: All human - Bella Swan is following in the footsteps of her father in the Secret Service. Edward Cullen is a man with a secret. Their lives are inexplicably tied to another. You know everyone for a reason.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello, I know my other story hasn't been updated in over a year.. or is it two.. but I have hit a permanent block with that. Life goes on. Here goes attempt #2, and perhaps I will go back and work on _Perseverance _again some time in the future. _Twilight and related characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just borrowing them._ AH**

**This story will be strictly from Bella Swan's point of view, unless I feel otherwise compelled.**

**Cross Hairs: Prologue**

* * *

Everything happens for a reason. Everyone we meet is in our lives for a reason. For what, we do not know yet, but in time we will know.

That is how my father died. Charlie Swan, beloved father and husband. And that is how I, Isabella Marie Swan, will die. I firmly believe I will not die of old age, but I will try to live my life with purpose and save those who cannot save themselves.

I am Bella Swan, and I would take a bullet for the President of the United States, but not because I want to, but because I have to.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **___Twilight and related characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just borrowing them._**_ AH_**

* * *

**_Cross Hairs: Chapter 1_**

* * *

The blaring of my alarm on my phone jolted me awake, and if that wasn't enough, a frantic knocking had commenced on my bedroom door. I rolled over with a pillow over my face and tried to will my roommate away. The sun wasn't even out yet, didn't she know that I was utterly useless before 8AM?

"Bella! Bella! Wake up! You can't be late! You made me promise to get you up or you'd kill me!" The shrill voice pounded into my head. Small footsteps were heard scurrying away from my door and another door slammed shut.

"Ugh, stupid pixie," I grumbled and lazily tossed my legs over the side of the bed and slowly rolled off it. I stretched and yawned before reaching for my phone and unlocking it.

**Monday, July 2nd, 2012.**

My eyes popped open. Shit, shit, shit. First day of work!

"Get out of the bathroom!" I shouted as I grabbed the towel off the back of my doorknob and skidded into the hallway.

"I'm peeing Bella, just give me a second, sheesh." A quick flush and a rush of running water signaled that she was done, so I barged into the bathroom and jumped into the shower with my clothes on. I quickly stripped and threw my clothes over the top and turned on the water, only to be met with lukewarm water. She must've taken a shower before I had.

"Get my clothes ready please Alice. I'll owe you big time," I quickly scrubbed my face and slathered shampoo on top of my head as I reached for the toothpaste and toothbrush off the sink.

"We really need to get that bathroom lock fixed. What if I had changed my mind and went #2 and you barged in Bella?"

"Seriously? Alice? Right now? If I don't lose this job, we can move to an apartment with functioning locks, okay? Until then, please, please, pretty please iron my suit-"

"Because you'll owe me. Yeah, yeah, if I had a dollar for every IOUs from you, we'd have a functioning bathroom lock," Alice giggled as I tried to splash her and she ran out the door.

The water ran cold in that short time and I cursed the rundown apartment to hell as goosebumps broke out over my skin and I started shivering uncontrollably.

I hopped out of the shower and toweled myself dry then leaned on the sink with my palms gripping the edges. I looked at myself carefully in the mirror and just saw a plain girl looking back, but there was a spark of determination in my eyes. Or maybe I was just shocked from the icewater shower I ended up having.

"You can do this Bella," I told myself with a small nod, "just like Dad."

"Bye Alice!" I shouted her goodbye and dashed out the door. A muffled 'good luck' sounded through the door and I smiled. It reminded me of what I was about to do today and I sped up my walk towards a coffee shop before walking to the closest bus stop.

Luck must have been on my side today because the bus pulled in just as I arrived, and it was my favorite bus driver along this route.

"Hey Bella," the bus driver greeted.

"Hi Ernie," I swiped my card for the fare and sat in the seat closest to him. "I was hoping I'd catch you. Here, I brought you breakfast." I fished through the paper bag for a doughnut.

"What would I do without you taking such good care of me," he laughed as he bit into the jelly filled doughnut. "You know me better than my own wife."

"I'm not helping your waistline either," I blushed and relaxed into the seat as he pulled away from the curb and into the bus' route. I stretched out my legs and watched the sun set everything aglow as it rose. "I'm so damn nervous Ernie, and I don't think this coffee is helping."

I knew that he would immediately know what I was talking about as I talked to him for days if not weeks about this job. Ernie and his wife even took me out to dinner when I had successfully passed my interview.

"Charlie would be proud," he briefly turned to me at a red light and continued, "and nothing you do would ever disappoint him. You've got a good head on your shoulders kid, just like him."

"Thanks Ernie. I hope you don't treat all your passengers like me," I laughed and got ready to leave.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he grinned and opened the doors. "Good luck kid! Not that you need it."

I jubilantly stepped off the bus and in my excitement stumbled into some commuters waiting to board the bus. "Sorry," I blushed and started my walk towards 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm aware that the address (1600 Pennsylvania Ave) is specific for the White House, and that is in no way the actual address nor building of my intent, but I figured it would be one of the most recognizable address.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: _Twilight and related characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just borrowing them. AH._**

**_Edward will not be making his appearance for a bit. But he will show up!_**

* * *

**_Cross Hairs: Chapter 2_**

* * *

Groups of early rising tourists were milling around the closer I got to my destination. The manicured lawn looked so soft that I wanted to run barefoot through the grass, but I'm sure that was not acceptable behavior unless you were under 10 years old.

"You can do this Swan," I took a deep breath and made my way towards my destination with my trusty phone displaying the directions, should I get lost in the short distance. I couldn't afford to get lost now, although the route was seared into my brain since I was a child.

"Swan?" A male voice called out. It seemed vaguely familiar so I turned to find the source and was met with a large brawny man with deep dimples in his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I furrowed my brows trying to place this man.

"It's me! Emmett McCarthy. Don't you remember me? We met while we were waiting for the job interview," he smirked. "I didn't think I was that forgettable."

Then it dawned on me, "Oh! Yeah, hey, glad to see you made it," I was relieved to see someone familiar in this place.

"You too. Did you get assigned to the desk jockey department?" Emmett fell into step with me as we walked towards the double doors.

"No," I quickly put my phone and purse into the small rubber bin and walked through the metal detector.

"What? Wait... you can't possibly mean," he trailed off, "You're security detail?"

"Sir, please place your metallic items in the bin. You're holding up the line," an irritated guard looked pointedly at him and I couldn't help but laugh as I picked up my purse and phone.

"There's no one behind me man!" Emmett exclaimed but complied anyway to catch up with me.

Once we made it past the front desk security, we were ushered to a spot in the lobby. Few others were already waiting and I recognized some of them from the interviewing process. There was the nerdy looking Ben Cheney, I only remembered his name because I stupidly thought he was related to Dick Cheney; an All-American boy who would probably be assigned to security detail; a blond girl named Lauren Mallory stood apart from the group. I vaguely remembered a short brunette girl that usually accompanied her. Perhaps she didn't make it past her interview. And the rest mush have been from different batches of interviews.

"We're just waiting another two minutes then I will hand you off to your respective departments for a briefing with your superiors," the veteran agent announced. His Id tag read Varner, Assistant Director Human Resources & Training.

"Swan," Emmett whispered as he inched closer to me.

"What?" I whispered back, eying him but not directly facing him for fear of earning a look of disapproval from the Assistant Director.

"Are you in the cyber crime unit or what?"

"Quit asking," I hissed as the AD glanced at his watch again.

"I bet its the cyber crime unit with these new geek squads," he smirked as he adjusted his tie.

Varner turned on his heel, "Whoever isn't here is fired. I do not take tardiness lightly." We were quick to trail him without a word.

Varner led us into a conference room that bore the seal of the United States Secret Service and a blue packet was set in front of each chair with a pen.

Welcome to the United States Secret Service. Forget the CIA or NSA, we have over 140 years of unparalleled service to this nation. We adapt to the times but our ideals have not changed. You will start here but know that you could be stationed anywhere in the world. I am not your mother. I will not coddle you or be of any comfort to you. "

A few snickers erupted but were quickly silenced by Varner. Bella sat straighter and tried to pay attention.

"Those of you here are chosen to be Special Agents. But should you wish to be part of Uniformed division that can also be arranged. Speak now if you wish to solely be part of the White House Police Force." He was met with silence. "Very well then. Open your packets."

I opened my folder and was met with pages and pages of schedules. Things ranging from physical training, gun training, driving, as well as cyber, intellectual, and financial fraud training. These items seemed relatively normal as the Secret Service usually dealt with counterfeit US currency and other treasury related items, with focus on protecting important people. But the hours. The hours seemed unbearably long.

"You'll report here every morning at 0500 unless you get moved to another facility outside of Washington D.C. You will all meet with your trainers, much like boot camp. Then you will learn the latest gimmicks and tricks for cyber terrorism like a sponge. A SPONGE. You hear me? You computer jockeys will have just as much physical training as the security detail monkeys and vice versa. The only differences is the advanced training you will receive depending on the area you are working in."

A door clicked open during Varner's speech and two agents stepped in. One was an older balding man, who seemed demanding and was possibly a chain smoker. The other was a start contrast. He was younger and incredibly fit, and probably never smoked a cigarette or put any harmful substance in his body. Unless it was a bullet.

"Cheney, Crowley, Mallory, Yorkie, with Special Agent Banner. McCarthy, Hale, Swan, Newton, with Special Agent Black."

I bit back a smirk when Emmett stared wide-eyed at me. I simply walked past him and followed Special Agent Black out of the room.

_Really?_ Emmett mouthed at me, knowing that I would catch his reflection in the glass.

_Really_, I mouthed back.

The trainer led us to the locker rooms and left with instructions to change and meet him in the facility. I went in and sat on the wooden bench between the lockers and looked around. I was alone for now as I was the only woman in my group, so I relished the silence. I had a nagging feeling that this locker room would be the only sort of reprieve I would have for awhile.

I quickly changed into a set of gym clothes and sneakers in a locker with my name on it and gave a quick glance at the clock.

**8:05AM.**

I groaned as I pushed past the doors. This was going to be a long day.

"Nice of you to join us Swan," Black said with his back turned towards me. _At least you could look at me when you're talking, jerk_.

"Sorry," I blushed and walked towards the group trying not to attract further attention, but if anything would go wrong today, this would be it. At the very last moment I tripped on nothing but air and was about to go crashing into Special Agent Black. I squeezed my eyes shut expecting the eminent impact and the laughter of my fellow recruits, but none of that occurred.

There was only silence, so I opened one eye, then the other. I could see a pair of strong arms holding me just inches off the ground. When I looked up, I saw close cropped black hair and brown eyes.

"How do you expect to protect anyone if you can barely walk across a flat surface Swan?" Black smirked at me then pulled me to my feet.

"Sorry sir," I scrambled away from him and stood in line.

"Well then, shall we begin?" Black gave us a once over before starting. "Break up into pairs. Hale and Newton, Swan and McCarthy."

We stood facing each other arm length apart on the mats and awaited more instructions. I sized Emmett up and he seemed bigger than he was earlier. _I'm so dead._

"Throw your opponent in any style you'd like. I want to see what you're capable of," Black called out. "Left goes first."

"Sorry Swan," Emmett shrugged apologetically before I felt myself being tugged towards him then spun to his side for a side-throw. The mat broke my fall but I left a small whimper escape. It was more from shock than actual pain, but I must've laid there longer than I thought because I heard both Hale and Newton landing on the mat.

They all seemed to wait to see what I would do. They were probably wondering how I got into this program when I couldn't walk across a flat surface.

"Swan, you're up," Black called as Emmett helped me up with a worried frown.

"Sorry Em," I gave him a small smile and his face became confused then surprised as I launched into a hurricanrana. It was a move I had learned as a child learning self-defense from Dad, where I spun around the opponent's neck with my legs locked in a cradle pinning hold and back flipping to toss the opponent.

Emmett landed with a loud thud and remained immobile. "Did that just happen?" He asked in a utterly shocked tone.

"That was like watching a chihuahua take down an English mastiff," Newton said in awe.

Once the shock of successfully tossing Emmett wore off, I helped him up and readied myself for more training. As time progressed I began to anticipate Emmett's varying throws and just went into them myself so I had more control of how I landed. Time flew as Black blew the whistle.

"Conditioning," Special Agent Black announced, and I groaned inwardly, "500 sit-ups, alternating partners. 100 push-ups. No girly push-ups Swan."

I grimaced, "Wouldn't dream of it sir," I replied with a cheeky grin.

It was nearly ten at night when we were finally released for the day. My shoulders were sore from the shooting exercises but it was my mind that took the brunt of the beatings today. The sheer amount of information they expected us to learn was astounding.

"Do they think we're computers or something?" I whined as we walked out of the building.

"Hey, we survived the first day. Lets go get some drinks to celebrate," Ben Cheney suggested.

"Sure but lets avoid all the old people watering holes. You never know if any one of those senior agents are there. We need to go to some club. A place they won't be caught dead in because its fun," Lauren Mallory glanced at Mike Newton and Emmett McCarthy suggestively.

I pounded my shoulder with my fist to try to relieve the ache, "I don't know if my poor head and shoulders can take it. I just want to curl up and read a good book, or die. Whichever is easier."

"Don't be such a party pooper, Belly," Emmett threw his arm around my shoulder and I glared at him.

"I wouldn't upset her McCarthy, considering she can toss your ass further than I can," Jasper Hale quietly interjected.

"Yeah Emmy, you don't want to get on my bad side," I smirked at him and stuck out my tongue. His arm retreated and he fell back a step to walk with Jasper.

"She's scary," Emmett stage whispered to Jasper who chuckled.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_Twilight and related characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just borrowing them. AH_

* * *

**Cross Hairs: Chapter 3**

* * *

A sudden jostling woke me from my dream, and a girly giggled followed, alerting me that Alice was in my room. What had I been dreaming about?

"Let me sleep Alice," I moaned as I rolled to my side and quickly winced from the ache in my shoulder.

"So who's Special Agent Black?" Alice wagged her eyebrows.

"Crap," I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter and tried to shove the pixie off the bed. My constant ramblings in my sleep were going to get me in serious trouble one day.

"And some teddy bear Emmy?" Alice paused, "C'mon Bella, tell me! I'll find out anyway."

"Don't you have anything else to do but torture me?" I rolled back on to my shoulder to make my way off the bed and winced again. "Goddammit."

Alice's small hands appeared at my side immediately going into doctor-mode. "Move your hand Bella, you're not making this any easier." With a sigh I removed my hand and let her tug my T-shirt sleeve up to inspect the damage. She let out a small hiss and her face contorted.

"Gun training? From the shape of it, it looks like a bigger one that you've ever used before with your Dad," she gingerly touched the black and blue spot. "I'll get a compress for it."

"I'm not an invalid Alice. I can do it," I dragged my feet towards the kitchen and noticed that a man was draped over our living room sofa. "ALICE!" I stage whispered to her, my eyes wide as I fervently pointed to the man.

She blushed and put a finger to her lips as she pulled the compress out of the freezer and dragged me into the bathroom.

"Alice! You were supposed to warn me if you bring a guy home," I crossed my arms and stared at her.

"It's not like that Bella," she rolled her eyes as she jerked the sleeve up again and pressed the cold compress into my shoulder.

"Then what's it like? Hmm?" I thought back to the man on the sofa and thought his honey-blond hair looked familiar. "Who is it?"

"I don't know," Alice looked down at the floor and picked at her already chipped nails.

"What the fuck Alice! You don't even know who he is, and you bring him home? We don't even have a functioning bathroom lock Alice! He could be a serial killer for all you know," I was livid at this point but managed to contain my rage into whispers.

"Yeah, but you could protect us," she shrugged.

"Alice..." I tried to drag it out of her.

"Fine! I was working an earlier shift yesterday since I switched with Marissa so when I got off at 9PM, you weren't home yet, even though you promised me, but I knew it was your first day on the job so I decided to let off some steam and eat out at the diner." Alice let out a breath, and I immediately felt guilty. It was Alice's birthday last night. I took a seat on the toilet, feeling like a horrible best friend. "I forgive you Bella, anyway, so it was around 10:30PM and I got bored talking to Mr. Bailey about his diner so I decided to leave. And the hottest man walked in."

_Did I manage to not roll my eye at this?_

"Shut up Bella, I know what you're thinking, but that's not it. Don't jump to conclusions. Anyway, we were doing the whole eye-contact from across the diner thing, and someone jumps in to rob the diner!"

My eyes widened at the thought of my friend near a loaded gun. "Are you okay Alice?" My delayed reaction seemed to amuse her as she swatted my hands away.

"Yeah, duh. The robber came in after Mr. Heartthrob with a shotgun and I was trying to scream and point behind him to warn him, but the next thing I know he pulled this crazy gun-snatching move from like the Matrix or something and had him on the ground in two seconds flat. Don't think the robber knew what hit him," Alice sighed dreamily and I knew I had lost her to some twisted fantasy she was having.

"That doesn't explain why he's here though."

"Oh, he just looked dead tired and after the police questioning and everything it seemed to take a toll on him," Alice paused as she took in the pointed look I was shooting in her direction. "I know I could have just called a cab but hey he was my white knight. I just wanted to get to know him. We live only two blocks away from the diner so I told him he could catch a nap here then go."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, "So, you invited a total stranger-"

"A total hot stranger-"

"A stranger with training, into our home... Are you nuts Alice? He could have hurt you!" I flung open the bathroom door and the door rattled against the wall. I stalked towards the sofa to have a few choice words with Alice trailing behind me. "Hey! Pervert! HEY!" I kicked the sofa then moved around it to get a look at his face and I stopped in my tracks and immediately turned red.

Alice gave me a quizzical look, "You know this guy?"

The blond rubbed his face with his hands wearily before looking up at me and jumping. "Swan?"

"Hale? What the hell is going on?" I tossed the compress onto the coffee table as he sat up.

"Did you call me a pervert?" Jasper asked with a raised brow.

I could feel myself turning twenty shades of red but managed to keep a composed stance, "That's not the point. Why are you here? You stalking me?"

"What? No. She let me crash here for a few minutes," he glanced at his watch, "well I guess a few hours."

"Why would you accept to stay at a woman's home in the first place?" I fumed but remembered that he did save Alice at the end of the day, so I took a deep breath. "Never mind that. At any rate, I thank you for saving Alice, but please leave."

"Bella," Alice grabbed my elbow and tugged me into the hallway. "He's not a bad guy! Don't make him feel bad."

Was it really four in the morning? I could hear the birds starting to chirp and the dewy air flowed in through the window. Frustrated, I tugged my loose hair and twisted it into a knot before setting it free again.

"Okay Hale, here's what we do. It's four, that leaves an hour for us to get ready and show up for work. There's a new toothbrush in the medicine cabinet and the shampoo is in the shower, but you're on your own for clothes. Give me ten minutes and the bathroom is yours," I turned on my heels and stalked into the bathroom.

"Uh, t-thanks," he called after me.

* * *

Jasper Hale and I walked out of the apartment together but I made sure to tell him to lag behind so no one would think that we were coming in together. It was bad enough he smelled like my strawberry shampoo, and he was wearing the same clothes as the night before.

I walked on ahead and hopped on the bus first, leaving him to do as he will. We still had 20 minutes until we had to report for work. It was sheer boredom that led me to those double doors and through the metal detector to chat with the morning security guards.

It turned out that most of them knew my father quite fondly. A few of them even remembered me as a child. The remainder of my 20 minutes passed pleasantly as we exchanged stories about Charlie Swan when Jasper made his entrance.

I nearly did a double-take as he strolled in with a freshly shaved face and a new suit. He still smelled faintly of strawberry shampoo but the aftershave masked the overly girly scent.

"Hey," he casually remarked before walking to the office area.

With wary eye on his new attire, I sat in the adjacent desk and pretended to fiddle around on the computer.

"Out with it Swan," Jasper murmured without looking away from his phone.

"How did you... Did you go home?" I asked, honestly curious how he changed to impeccable clothes in less than twenty minutes.

"I had my sister bring me an outfit," he set his phone down and started to check his e-mail.

"And the shave?"

"A barbershop that I know."

"At five in the morning?" I looked at him incredulously. "What sane barber is going to open their shop just to shave your face?"

"A personal one."

"A what?" My jaw seemed to have come unhinged as Emmett chose the perfect time to stroll in.

"Catching flies?" Emmett chuckled as he sat across from me.

It was not a moment too soon when I snapped my mouth shut that the Deputy Director peeked into the room.

"My, my, aren't you lucky. Second day on the job and some of you get to do some real work," the Deputy Director flicked on his iPad and scrolled through a list. "Swan, Mallory, you're assigned to guard the President's daughter Jane."

"Babysitting?" Lauren rolled her eyes.

"Do you have a problem with that Miss Mallory? You think a rookie like you is ready to protect the President?" He didn't even glance up at her, so I wondered how many times he had heard that reply before.

"Your sole responsibility is to tail the daughter to and from school and any other activities that are scheduled for her. Newton, Cheney you're on Demetri."

"Yes sir," Ben pushed up his glasses and sat up straighter.

"The rest of you, get on with your training."

* * *

The meeting with Jane Volturi was going smoothly, that is, until the Deputy Director cleared the room and it was just us three in the room. She promptly flopped on to a couch to appraise us.

"You, blondie," Jane tilted her chin in her direction. "Get me my book bag."

Lauren's face contorted, and I could tell she would explode at this disrespectful sprite so I put a hand on her arm and shook my head. Instead, I grabbed the back pack off the floor and brought it to Jane.

"You're not blondie," she frowned.

"I'm Bella, and that is Lauren. I hope our times together are pleasant," I smiled at her, trying to thaw out the brat in her.

"Whatever," Jane dug through her bag then began to grimace. "Where's my phone?" She looked up at us and demanded. "Where is my phone?"

"How should we know? We just got here?" Lauren retorted.

"Find my phone," Jane tossed her bag to the side.

"Why don't you try to recall the last place you used it?" I suggested.

"Well if I could remember where I had it, I would have found it don't you think?" Jane hissed. "Try using your head for once. Or is that too hard for a human bullet shield."

I recoiled from her words, and my mind flashed back to my Dad. Pushing those thoughts aside, I grabbed my phone from my pocket and scrolled through my contacts list.

"What are you doing? Who're you calling?" Jane demanded.

"You," I smirked as I dialed her number. Sure enough "Baby" by Justin Bieber was blaring through her back-pack.

"Well, well, looks like you didn't lose it after all," Lauren fetched the offending phone and tossed it into Jane's hands. "Now why don't you get ready for school?"

* * *

The day passed slowly, and I felt like I was being subjected to additional torture by attending high school again. _Couldn't they give the President's children private tutors?_ The only up-side to this whole ordeal was that many other diplomatic and ranking officials sent their children here. The school was exceptionally guarded and extremely well provided for.

_So this is how the 1% lives_, I mused to myself. The bell rang and Jane shuffled into the hallway with her friends while Lauren and I stayed a few paces behind. Next up, English Literature.

"This is so boring," Lauren whined as we followed a particularly eager Jane into the east wing.

"At least the next one is English Lit," I partially hoped that they would be reading something interesting.

The bell rang, signaling the start of class and we followed Jane to the back of the room. The teacher strolled in and my eyes widened. I glanced at Lauren and she mirrored my expression.

In front of us was the most perfect male specimen ever witnessed. He looked particularly young for a teacher, and I could see all the young girls in the class preening for his attention. I snorted, as if they would ever have a shot. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, he opened his mouth.

"Hello class. I hope your weekend was enjoyable. I know it sucks to be in school for the summer," he grinned. _Was I still upright?_ His voice was like velvet and music to my ears. His half-smile was a cross between a mischievous smirk and a grin. And his eyes. His eyes sparkled like emeralds. He must really enjoy teaching. He gazed at his class and briefly stopped on Lauren and I but simply passed his gaze. Bodyguards in his classroom must be nothing new.

"Professor Cullen?" A mousy girl in the front row raised her hand.

"Yes Mary?" He perched on his desk with a book in hand.

"How was your weekend?" She asked as she turned beet red.

"It was exciting to say the least. Thank you for asking," he gave her a dazzling smile before pushing off the desk to launch into his lesson plan. "Please take out your books."

A familiar book appeared on Jane's desk and I nearly squealed in delight. _Wuthering Heights_. Lauren jabbed me in the side quickly and I looked up, catching Professor Cullen's gaze. I must not have contained myself as well as I thought. I smiled apologetically and felt the heat in my cheeks.

* * *

"Alice! I'm home!" I shouted as I balanced a cake and bottles of wine in my arms. The guilt from missing Alice's birthday had eaten away at me all day. I had been hoping she would be home when I got in. Thankfully Jane had no further excursions after school so I was relieved earlier than the night before.

"In here!" Alice's voice came from the kitchen.

"Guess what I have," I set the cake and wine on the counter to see Alice already dressed in her scrubs for work. Alice's eyes filled with tears when she eyed the cake.

"I switched with Marissa remember?" She said quietly.

"Oh, that's okay. We can celebrate when you're off. It's not every day that your best friend turns 25," I hugged her tightly then helped her pack her lunch.

"I won't be off til about two in the morning," she said apologetically.

"And I'll be waiting," I smiled at her and hugged her again.

"Thanks Bella, you're the best," Alice squeezed me back.

"I know," I grabbed a bottle of moscato, "but I hope you don't mind me starting the party early."

"Not at all! From what I heard, it sounds like you'll need it," Alice said off-hand then clamped her hand over her mouth.

"Heard from who?" I narrowed my eyes at her.

"No one!" She squeaked.

"Alice," I said in my warning tone.

"Jasper! He told me you were assigned to Jane Volturi," she shuddered.

"So you're talking to him regularly now?"

"Well we text," she shrugged sheepishly.

"Are you dating?"

"Bella!" She gaped at me in shock.

"What? Isn't that the most logical thing I'm supposed to pull away from this whole texting business?" I poured myself a glass and took a sip.

"Well no, he hasn't asked me yet," she plopped down on a kitchen chair and stole a sip from my glass.

"Whatever, have a good time at work," I gave her a kiss on the cheek and whisked my wine glass away with my copy of _Wuthering Heights_ and settled into the sofa.

"Good night Bella."

After the door clicked shut, I opened my book and smiled. I reread my favorite book with a certain English professor narrating it to me.

* * *

**A/N: Well hello Professor Edward! lol - Thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: **_Twilight and related characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just borrowing them. AH_

_Thank you for your review Bree59._

* * *

**_Cross Hairs: Chapter 4_**

* * *

The days following my initial introduction with the President's daughter were routine and quickly grew mundane. The only perk of the day was seeing Jane's English Literature professor. If anything, it possibly grew into an obsession. After conducting a quick background search on him, I found out that he was 27 and held two masters degrees. One in English Literature and Computer Science. It puzzled me to think that he was wasting his talent away teaching high school children, but who was I to judge?

The accolades that he received in the field of computer science made him comparable to those that worked for the CIA. Not to mention, he did have a brief stint at the United Nations.

His parents were diplomats, Carlisle and Esme Cullen. They worked overseas in England as ambassadors.

"What you doing Belly?" Emmett's loud voice startled her in the otherwise quiet atrium.

"Quit calling me that," I scowled at him while nursing my morning coffee.

"What's that?" He leaned over her shoulders to catch a glimpse of my loaned iPad.

"Nothing," I stammered and automatically blushed.

"Doesn't look like nothing to me, especially with that blush of yours," he paused dramatically then whispered in her ear, "you were watching porn weren't you?"

I sat up shocked then grabbed him by his tie and yanked him over the plush armchair onto the ground in front of me.

"Grow up, Special Agent Emmett McCarthy," I was flustered but I wasn't going to show him that. I simply rose and walked away to our offices.

The clacking of his polished dress shoes followed me into the office. What was this high school? Or perhaps he developed a crush on me? I snickered.

"Are you mad?" He sat in Jasper's chair to face me.

"No," I was clicking furiously on my mouse, trying to download my tasks for the day.

"When a woman says no, they actually mean yes," a velvety voice interrupted my thoughts. I snapped my head up and saw the messy bronze sex hair that belonged to the one and only Professor Edward Cullen.

"Hey Eddie," Emmett sauntered towards the door while I stared at his back. The bear and the Adonis knew each other? On what planet? I shook my head.

"I hate your nicknames," Edward scowled.

"Why're you here? Thought we were meeting tonight? How the hell did you get in here?" Emmett motioned for him to sit.

"I was thinking about working here for a bit," he said shrugging and throwing a glance my way. "I can't let you have all the fun now can I?"

"What about your teaching job?" Emmett spun around abruptly to face me. "Oh sorry, Eddie, that's Belly. Belly, Eddie."

"Bella," I corrected as I rolled my eyes.

"Let me formally introduce myself. I'm Edward Cullen," he shot me that scorching crooked grin of his and I was a puddle of mush.

"I'm Jane's bodyguard," I managed to say. _And I know everything about you_.

"I've noticed," he looked at me a little longer than necessary and I felt flustered. If he looked at me any longer my face might spontaneously combust. I had to get out of here.

"I-I-I've got to go," I quickly collected my belongings and fled the office. I could feel Edward's eyes trailing me, but he didn't say a word.

* * *

The cold water I splashed on my face did little to tame the blush that swept down to my neck. How could one man do this to me? I've got some serious issues. Perhaps Alice could prescribe me something for it. Maybe it was a skin condition.

I angled the hand dryer to shoot air at my face to dry then gave myself a once over in the mirror. The fluorescent lightning did little to boost my confidence. I felt overworked, and the need to run a few miles was creeping up on me.

The ride down the elevator to the gym facility helped cool me down some, and when I walked into the locker room I was completely composed.

"Did you see the new Techie?" A voice gushed.

"He's so hot. He could give Black a run for his money," another swooned.

"Don't you think he would be better in the spy business? Can you imagine him, silent and deadly," the first voice squealed.

I grinned, I could also picture that easily. Professor Cullen sure had the trim physique that Special Ops runners needed. He was charming, but I could see him as a deadly assassin as well.

"Yeah, he's too pretty to be squandered in a windowless computer room," the second voice said then a locker slammed shut.

That comment oddly enough, irked me to no end. He was more than just looks. The way he describes literary works was that of someone highly intelligent and a sense of vulnerability.

I grabbed my iPod shuffle that Alice had given me and slammed my locker to storm out.

The gym was relatively empty as many people were doing field work or in their offices, so I had it to myself with exception of the two harpies from the locker room. The two women were doing yoga exercises in the corner, while I set myself on the treadmill.

One hour into the run, and I felt sweat drenching my outfit, but I could care less. I was still irritated about the comment made about Edward Cullen. It made no sense that I could be so irrational in my emotions towards him. That made me run even faster in frustration.

The loud and upbeat dubstep music distracted me as I ran with my eyes closed. It was only when I felt someone staring at me that I popped open my eyes.

And there he was.

"Drink this," Edward held a bottle of water out to me. The music drowned out his voice and I hated not hearing his velvety voice so I took the ear buds out and placed them on the small shelf on the dash.

"Thanks," I continued to run as he took the machine next to me and began to run. The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable but I could now feel the gaze of the other two women on my back. "Are they staring?"

"They sure are," he grinned but looked straight ahead at the television monitor that was permanently on CNN.

"Sorry," I set the water bottle in the cup holder and set the speed a little lower.

"For what?" he matched his speed to mine, though his longer legs allowed him to do a brisk walk than the small jog I was doing.

"You're new and I'm just giving you unwanted attention. They probably wouldn't be staring if you were alone," I watched as he rolled his eyes at that comment.

"Bella," he said in a tone that had me hit the emergency stop button on the treadmill. He waited until I was at a stand still and turned to look at me. "I want you to stop apologizing for something you didn't even cause."

"Sorry-" I said automatically and he gave me a knowing look.

"See?" He resumed running with a slight frown on his face.

"So what brings you here? If you don't mind me asking. It seems like an abrupt change from teaching English Lit," I resumed my run but left my iPod where it was.

"I'm not quitting. Just doing some contract work for the service for infrastructure. But it's mostly consulting work," he picked up his pace.

"Good, I would hate for them to lose someone who has such an in depth understanding and interpretation of classic works," I acknowledged, feeling a bit bold.

"Ah, a fellow avid reader?" He questioned.

Good thing my face was already flushed, "Yes. I thoroughly enjoyed your lesson on _Wuthering Heights_."

"At least someone did," he snorted.

"No, trust me. Those little teeny boppers may show up to class to get a look at their sexy teacher, but it actually helps them retain your lectures too. And they actually do the homework to try to impress you," I defended.

"Sexy teacher huh?" He smirked as he glanced at me.

"Well, I, uh, that's what Jane tells me," I stammered. I decided then, that there was no saving myself after that one. I slowed down and dismounted the treadmill. "It was good meeting you Professor Cullen."

"Just Edward," he called as I sanitized the treadmill for the next user.

"Bye, just Edward."

* * *

Saturday was over too quickly for my liking, but I was eager to get to Jane again. After the encounter at the gym, I had not seen a single hair of that luscious bronze mess and I was continuously disappointed.

Sunday crawled by as I didn't have to show up for work, so I found myself wandering into a small cafe for lunch. The weather was pleasant with dry heat instead of the sticky 100 degree heat we've been receiving so I sat outside.

With a latte in hand, I sat at a table and people watched. Occasionally I would nibble on my chocolate chip muffin and read the news some more on the borrowed Secret Service iPad. A headline caught my eye:** Volturi Enterprises Under Fire.**

^^ Volturi Enterprises Group (NASDAQ: VLTR) has recently come under fire for violating multiple health violations in their various factories. Many employees have mysteriously fallen ill, with a rising death count. One factory in Mexico has reported as many as 36 deaths, while China has reported as many as 102 confirmed deaths. The specifics of cause of death are being pointed to radiation poisoning.^^

The news had rattled me. President Volturi no longer held a spot as the CEO of Volturi Enterprises but I had heard of small incidents erupting before he was elected. All those deaths caused by the Volturi saddened me, but I continued reading:

^^A spokes person for the Volturi Group has not yet commented about the deaths. Although President Aro Volturi has vacated the CEO position since his appointment, many authorities question his involvement with these incidents.

^^Interpol is currently launching a world-wide investigation as suspicion of other high ranking officials have come to light.

How was I to train to protect the Volturi family with my life? Fear began to creep into my thoughts as I contemplated how likely it was that there would be assassination attempts to the Volturi family from the dissenting groups. Perhaps everything would be solved and squared away within a week's time and I wouldn't have to fear for anyone's life.

Poor Jane and Demetri Volturi. They were just teenagers, and couldn't possibly know anything about their family business. Would anyone target them? As much as Jane was a brat, I wouldn't wish harm on her.

With quiet resolve, I quickly made my way to the office.

* * *

The whole building was abuzz and for a Sunday, there seemed to be an influx of employees present. Perhaps everyone had a similar thought to be close to the First Family should anything serious occur.

"Swan!" Special Agent Black barked and motioned for me to follow him.

We stood in the empty conference room for a moment, then everyone in our training group filed in.

"Swan you're off Jane detail," Black stood with his hands on his hips, then opted to remove his suit jacket.

"What?" Lauren and I both asked.

"McCarthy, you're taking Swan's spot," he continued.

"Why? Did I do something wrong? What about Lauren?" I stood incredulously. Had I done something for them to not trust me?

"I'm keeping Mallory on Jane to help McCarthy with her routine. You're assigned to monitoring news feeds about Volturi Enterprises."

"You can't do this to me!" I exclaimed.

"I can, and I just did," his eyes blazed with hidden warning not to push the subject further.

A woman poked her head into the room and motioned for Black to step out a moment. Once he was out, we all erupted in discontent.

"We're on high alert and I'm assigned to babysitting duties?" Emmett sat disgruntled. "I should be guarding the President."

"At least you're protecting one of them. I'm doomed to be a desk jockey now," I was sorely disappointed.

"I don't get why he just pulled you and not me," Lauren crossed her arms and frowned. "Am I expendable and you aren't?"

I rolled my eyes in reply, "You know her every day routine. You'll probably just show McCarthy her schedule then get pulled too."

The woman that pulled Special Agent Black out of the room earlier stepped back in. "Special Agent Black has been pulled to active duty for the Presidential detail so, you're dismissed."

"At least someone's seeing some action," Mike muttered as he walked out the door.

Half of us split to the tech command center to analyze news feeds with anything Volturi related. My shoulders slumped and I dragged my feet but I felt a small zap of energy as I pushed past the glass doors.

Special Agent Banner was looking over Edward Cullen's shoulder and nodding at something he said. I could hear the quick precision of his fingers flying over the keyboard. I stood there awkwardly waiting for anyone to acknowledge me and direct me to an unoccupied terminal, until Edward popped his head up in my direction.

"Hi Bella," he glanced at me before motioning for me to sit by him. Banner moved aside and we gazed at the screen.

"What's this?" I saw data pouring down the screen and barely caught the information that flashed for brief moments. Then realization hit me, "You're hacking into Volturi Enterprises?"

"I had Cullen here following medical files of the deceased at first, but it led to one of these sites. Extortion, money laundering, connections to Italy and the mafia in the 90s, the KGB in the 70s, and that's just the beginning," Banner said in awe.

"Shouldn't you report this to the Director Deputy?" I was puzzled.

Edward shook his head, "Not just yet. First off, this was not found legally. We don't have any warrants or anything. So if we used this evidence it would just be tossed out in the court of law."

I leaned back in my seat, uncomfortable with the turn of events. This felt wrong and dirty. Charlie had always told her to report anything to the higher ups if she thought something was dangerous. And there was a feeling in my gut that this was extremely dangerous. Not just the fraudulent information about the company but connections to the mafia? An American President with connections to the mafia or the KGB or perhaps even something worse was not a good sign.

"Swan, there's a terminal freed up for you by Webber," Banner drummed his fingers along the back of my chair then pointed to the back.

With a lingering gaze at the back of Edward's head I proceeded to my terminal. There was a set determination in the way he set his shoulders. Hacking didn't seem too difficult for him, so it was easy to tell when something of interest to him popped up. There was a moments pause while he skimmed an article or data.

It didn't seem like someone who was here to do consulting work or even improving the current infrastructure.

I shook my head to clear these thoughts and minded my own business. Sticking my nose where it doesn't belong never got me anywhere.

I tapped into news wires, stock market news and other various sources and set myself in for the long haul. Maybe I should order some food, and pick up a few energy drinks. This task would require more than a couple shots of espresso.

A couple other agents were stretching at their terminals. They looked like they never left from their shift the night before.

"Great," I muttered and sent a text to Alice that I was here for the long haul.

**Want me to pick you up some food later and deliver it to the lobby? - A**

I grinned to myself. I loved the little pixie sometimes, no matter how often I wanted to kill her.

**Would I ever say no love? - Bella**

"Hey Bella, come look at this," Ben pulled my chair toward his cubicle.

"What?" I looked at an old newspaper article with a photo of Aro Volturi shaking hands with a businessman in front of a building. It looked to be a ribbon cutting ceremony. "So?"

"Look here," he pointed to the far left corner of the photo. I squinted trying to make out what Ben was getting at through the dithering.

"Can you zoom in some more?"

"This is the most I can get it," he furrowed his brows as he centered the image.

"Wait a minute," I scooted closer to the screen. "Is that a sniper or something on the roof?"

"That's what I thought," Ben then zoomed the picture out to normal print size, "but look who it's pointing at."

"Someone off-screen?" I was completely clueless now. "Dammit Cheney, spit it out."

He chuckled then tabbed to an open window to show me the complete and original photograph that the newspaper used.

"Laurant Witherdale? Why?" I grimaced. This was even more convoluted that I had thought. Witherdale family held the majority share in General Electric, and recently became a household topic from their major deal with Google as well as his son's recent public behavior. James Witherdale had two counts of kidnapping women and torturing them.

The injustice of it all was that Laurant Witherdale used his connections to get his son the minimum sentencing for both counts.

He was a twisted soul and I wished that scum was in a maximum security prison for the rest of his life.

"Well, I'm thinking that Witherdale and Volturi have a feud going on. Something they've kept from the public eye for good reason. Take that building behind him for example. That was the unveiling of Genomix, the epicenter of DNA research. Well this was when we were really young, but remember how the news keeps bringing up cloning of the sheep and things like that?"

"Dolly? The first successful sheep clone?" I twirled a pen absentmindedly, vaguely remembering cutting out articles about Dolly for a current events assignment back in school.

"Genomix was PPL Therapeutics of Edinburgh, Scotland."

"You hurt my head Cheney. You know that?" I sighed.

"All that aside, what I'm trying to say is, even now our government doesn't allow funding for human cloning testing. Witherdale wanted to experiment with cloning to earn some prestige as successful cloning into adulthood of any mammal was unheard of at the time." He brought up few other articles to support his research.

"Let me guess, Aro Volturi beat him to the punch?"

"Not exactly," Ben paused, "this is where I'm not too sure but, Volturi Enterprises obtained the go-ahead from the Food and Drug Administration."

I frowned, "But if that happened in the 90s, how come we don't have human clones running around?"

"Bella, you live in the world of science fiction I swear," Ben rolled his eyes. "They're still perfecting the use of cloning parts to repair spinal damage and spare body parts."

"So, no possibility to clone amazing me?" I quirked a brow, making Ben burst out with laughter. Edward turned his head for a brief moment but returned to his previous pose.

The idea of President Volturi coming under scrutiny didn't seem accidental. And it seemed like plenty of people had problems with Volturi Enterprises. I slid my chair back into my cubicle and launched into my own investigation.

* * *

The hours flew by as I poured over all the news that was pouring in, as well as old documents that I ran a check through. I didn't look away from the monitor for a minute until a can of Monster Energy drink and a diner take-out bag appeared in front of me.

"Alice sent this," Jasper smiled and handed me some utensils.

"I love the damn pixie," I rubbed my eyes and peeked into the bag. "Seasoned fries and a big juicy cheeseburger. I may just marry her."

A sound of someone spitting out their drink caught both our attention.

"Crap," Edward muttered as he fumbled around for some napkins.

"Here Cullen," Jasper tossed him a box of Kleenex tissues from the adjacent terminal.

I turned my attention from Edward cleaning his keyboard and monitor to focus on Jasper.

"So, Hale. Texting?" I asked while eating my fries.

"You know it would be polite to offer me some," he said eying the fries.

"You know very well as I do, that Alice gave you your own meal. Bugger off," I scoffed. A hint of a blush colored his cheeks and I jumped at the opening. "You guys are going out!"

Jasper only nodded. "Are you going to threaten me now?"

"Yes. Its only obvious. We have to fight to see who can marry Alice," I said confidently. "I've known her longer."

"I'm a guy."

"So?" I quirked a brow.

"I can pleasure her," he smirked as I nearly choked on my fries.

"W-who says I can't?" I sputtered out. _Good save Swan!_

He turned about twenty shades of red then he burst out laughing. "Dear god, what am I getting myself into."

"Whatever, go away. I have news feeds to analyze."

"You should go home Swan. It's already midnight," he said as he stood to leave.

"He's still here," I pointed to Edward, who now had a studio quality headset propped on his head.

"He doesn't have anyone to go home to. Alice is waiting for you. She hasn't stopped talking," Jasper said in a low voice.

_He doesn't have anyone to go home to?_ I felt irrationally sad for him. Surely a guy like him had some sort of girlfriend or a nightly female company. I dismissed my prior sympathy for him and went with the later thought.

"Fine. Let's go now," I tossed the uneaten burger back into the container and packed it into my purse. There was no way Edward Cullen would be alone. Could there?

* * *

**A/N:** Any "news" is made up except for couple of actual events, places and names, like the Dolly sheep cloning. This was pretty big news in the 90s. But otherwise much else is purely fictional. CONSPIRACY THEORIES ABOUND!

James is such scum isn't he?

Reviews greatly appreciated!


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Twilight related material/characters belong to S.M.

* * *

**Cross Hairs: Chapter 5**

* * *

Jasper Hale was found at my apartment more often than not. It was up to the point that I felt like the intrusive third wheel. He never had me feeling awkward when we were all hung out together. It was always when Jasper left that the hollow feeling returned, and rejection washed over me.

Alice, being the great friend she was, always made girl-time and made sure that Jasper never slept over. There was always a connection between us and she always knew how I felt. Sometimes I wondered if she was psychic when she would bring home take out from the diner straightaway from work when I was particularly detected. Not one phone conversation or text message needed to be exchanged for her to know how I felt.

Lately, in my loneliness, I found myself thinking of Jane Volturi's English literature professor. We didn't really have any serious conversations. Just a greeting here and there. The only real conversation was at the gym, on his first day of work at the Service. Opportunities to talk were missed as our team was moved outside of the city for intensive training. Turmoil was bubbling over the nation over Volturi Enterprises and the involvement of high ranking officials. Our training was seemingly accelerated, and we relished the chance to step into our roles.

Most of us that applied for the protection service were well versed in combat and defensive techniques. So when team building exercises commenced, it teamed up the protection group with the brain trust. To my surprise, when the trainer blew the whistle everyone immediately paired up, leaving me with Edward Cullen. I almost groaned when Lauren shot me a sly glance, letting me know that this was planned.

"How convenient," I muttered under my breath as I stood in front of Edward.

"Come again?" He politely asked. _So damn polite._ I sighed.

"Side-throw," I stepped to grab him and flipped him on to his back.

Edward looked up me slightly stunned, "Ow?"

I rolled my eyes, "You landed on a mat."

"You just took me by surprise," he brushed himself off then stood up.

"Okay, now you flip me," I took a firm stance.

He eyed me skeptically then grabbed my uniform to flip me. When I didn't budge, he looked up at me in surprise.

"C'mon Cullen, you can do it. Little ol'me," I smirked. I almost burst out laughing when he looked to be genuinely struggling. The stance that I was taking and my conforming my body to his, didn't allow him to flip me. He got me off the ground a few times, but I simply stepped out of his footing and regained my own balance.

"You're cheating," he stated.

Emmett and Tyler burst out laughing. "Hey Eddie, Swan probably only weighs about a hundred pounds. What gives?" Emmett snorted while he laughed.

"Did I say you can stop?" The trainer shouted at the two, who quit laughing but occasionally broke out into fits of giggles.

"Well?" I gazed at Edward under my lids. "Okay. On the count of three. One, two, three!" I flipped myself onto the mat, much to Edward's elation.

"About time," he grinned.

"You know, for an athletic guy, you're a little wimpy," I teased as he pulled me off the ground.

"Whatever," Edward genuinely smiled and the sun seem to glint off his bright green eyes.

"Okay, let me show you step by step," I jumped lightly on my feet, eager to show him the basics.

* * *

The next exercise had most of us pretty excited. As fresh recruits, we weren't allowed to carry guns, so the shooting range shot a burst of energy into us. It didn't matter that it was 90 degrees outside and there was no wind. We were eager to have any contact with these weapons. It consisted of the same type of guns used back at the capital, but being outdoors with a gun gave it a whole different feel.

For me, it reminded me of Charlie. He used to take me on hunting trips, and I used to joke that he was treating me like the son he never had.

We were all issued a hand-gun, similar to that which we would be on us at all times during protection, goggles, and standard issue ear-muffs with plugs.

The non-moving bulls-eye targets for hand-guns were set at 7 to 25 yards apart. After much boasting to our trainer, we skipped on over to train at the 25 yard mark. Couple other Service members wandered on to the field to train, so we had plenty of partners to have a small contest.

Our group plus Edward and the trainer, shot two at a time, and pairs of senior agents shot with us. It was two on two, and we checked the targets after we each shot our rounds empty. Our team got smoked by the senior agents, but I was proud of my seven shots being relatively all close together near the center. Edward was probably the worst of all. He would probably never live it down from Emmett. His seven rounds were scattered all over but they did manage to land on the square piece of paper. I was proud that he took everything in stride and laughed it off. I did agree that for a civilian, he did remarkably well.

Once target practice was over, we made our way into the dorms. The few of us with cars did go back to their homes in the city. I was glad I didn't own a car. The drive back and forth would have easily tested my patience. I was sad to see Edward depart for his home, but relieved at the same time.

I sat in my bed drying my hair, while waiting for the microwave to beep, signaling that my dinner was edible. The room felt strange without Alice's presence. I was so accustomed to Alice being with me every night, but having Jasper on the same floor was the only reassurance I had.

"Wow, I really don't have a life," I said to myself and draped the damp towel on the back of a chair. My cellphone lit up and vibrated, signaling a text.

**Miss you best buddy! -A**

A grin spread across my face as I texted her back.

**I was thinking the same thing. I miss me -Bella**

**Brat. Good night! -A**

I smiled to myself and fetched my dinner, a slice of pizza. It was only 9:30PM but my mind insisted on running a marathon.

I thought back to the training range while I devoured my meal. It was a nice treat to see everyone in such a delightful mood. Plus it was a great stress reliever. I pictured Edward laughing with his head thrown back as everyone laughed at the wrong way he held a gun. That man watched way too many movies, or played too many first person shooters on Xbox.

Everyone howled with laughter when Emmett tried to show him how to properly hold a hand gun, but overly exaggerated his closeness. Emmett's burly body was flush against Edward as he brought his arms around Edward's own. After a few cat calls from the senior agents, Edward shoved Emmett away, but laughed it off good naturedly.

Thinking about Edward was getting me way too hot and bothered. Those boyish good looks, the emerald eyes, the tousled hair, and his impeccable physique. Even without a mirror, I could tell that my face was flushed, and a light sheen of sweet covered my body. And it wasn't from the extra dash of red pepper flakes on my pizza.

"Gym," I stated to myself and hopped to my feet. Sexual frustration was the last thing I needed. I quickly changed into a pair of running shorts and compression top and headed for the gym.

At precisely 7AM, we had marching orders to go jogging through the outdoor trails. The air was crisp yet dewy, and just the thing I needed to wake up. I was surprised to find that Edward wasn't present this morning. I wanted to ask our trainer what happened, but Lauren beat me to the punch.

"Why isn't Edward Cullen present, Sir?" Lauren asked as she slowed her pace to match the trainer's.

"Consultation," was the only reply we received and left it at that. She looked to me with an exasperated face and pointed toward the trainer's back.

As the sun rose higher, sweat drizzled down our backs. For once, everyone's cheeks were flushed. Our bottles of water were long empty and we were running on empty.

"Wash up, and meet me in the Communications Room," our trainer blew his whistle and jogged straightaway off towards the office complex.

"How does he do it?" Mike wheezed as he watched the trainer's back.

"Just be happy that we're not training with the Seals or something," Tyler slapped him on the back and his face twisted in disgust as his hand came away dripping wet.

"I wish I was with the Navy Seals," Emmett muttered as he trudged past us.

"Then why didn't you join? You're built like one of them," I rolled my eyes as we slowly made our way back into air-conditioned heaven.

"Personal reasons," he said wistfully. "Hit the showers Swan."

"Aye, aye, Captain," I called as I headed towards the wash facilities. It seemed to be a sore spot for Emmett, as I've never witnessed a serious expression on his face before. Maybe I should ask Edward about it sometime. They did seem particularly close, from what I saw.

I pulled my shower basket from the locker and took a quick cold shower. Lauren took the adjacent one and I could smell her body-wash waft over me. It smelled like strawberries. I quirked a brow. She had never smelled like strawberries before. It was usually just me, while every other woman regaled herself with fancy scents.

"New body-wash Mallory?" I asked with a grin.

"Oh, yeah. Just thought I'd try something new," she said over running water.

"Welcome to the club," I said as I turned my water off.

"What do you mean?" She genuinely sounded confused.

"I've always used strawberry scented shampoo since I was a kid," I called as I toweled off.

"Oh," Lauren sounded a bit disappointed then she perked right up. "I just picked it up because Edward Cullen said that strawberries were his favorite scent."

"Oh," I paused as I stepped out of the shower.

"Wait," Lauren pulled aside her shower curtain and poked her face out. "You aren't interested in Edward, are you?"

I hesitated for a brief second before recovering, "Of course not." I watched her face relax at my answer.

"Good," she pulled back into her shower.

Was I surprised Edward would talk to Lauren? Not in the least. She was a gorgeous blonde who could have possibly pursued an on-screen career, but instead chose to apply her skills to the Service. In addition to her envious physical attributes, she was blessed with a brain. She was a graduate from Brown University, who specialized in Linguistics.

If Edward had to chose between Lauren and I, without a doubt he would chose Lauren. Hell, even I would. Did Edward really like strawberries? Maybe I'll pick something up from the cafe in the lobby with strawberries in it for him one day.

I picked up my shower basket and headed towards my room to make myself presentable. I made a run for it when I saw Mike stepping out of his room.

"Hey, Bella, nice towel." Mike chuckled.

"Could this day get any worse?" I muttered as I riffled through my bag for my black suit and a button-down dress shirt; uniform of champions. I brushed on a little mascara, which was the extent of my make-up capabilities and made my way out to the Communications Room.

"Welcome. Today we're going to work on recognizing facial expressions and other factors that Service agents constantly monitor. It helps when you're scanning a sea of faces when you're on motorcade walks or in private delegations. Facial expressions are everything." Agent Black smiled back at us instead of our menacing imp of a trainer.

"Good morning, Special Agent Black. I thought you were out for a job," Tyler commented.

"It was just for a day. Although I may very well leave again pretty soon. Nonetheless, lets begin shall we?" Agent Black flipped the light switch and we were bombarded with photos. He paused at one of a rally. Hundreds of people were gathered in a theater. The angle of the photograph showed that it was taken behind the speaker and out to the audience. "Spot the threat." He simply said.

"It's like 'Where's Waldo' it's impossible," Cheney squinted.

"I'll give you a hint. It was someone that was in the first couple of rows," Agent Black smirked.

"What? This really happened?" Lauren leaned in closer to the projection.

I scanned each face, one by one, starting from the left and moving on to the right. Nothing looked out of place. Everyone was cheering for the speaker and smiling. Wait.

"Man in the brown v-neck sweater," I stated, and it got so quiet that you could've probably heard a pin drop.

"Have you seen this before?" Agent Black asked with a grin.

"No," I slowly shook my head. I didn't quite know why I knew it was that man. It was just a gut feeling.

"Then how the hell did you know?" Emmett was stumped. He even walked up to the projection to get a closer look.

"Just a gut feeling. Something is off," I leaned back in my chair to try to pin-point the exact thing that threw me off. "It's like everything is too perfect. It's not natural."

"BINGO!" Agent Black shouted, startling everyone in the room. "It's the subtle differences that you must learn to recognize. That's what makes a good Service Agent. Think about it guys. When you go to watch a CGI movie, take for instance Final Fantasy: Advent Children, or Avatar. You know that they aren't real. But by our description of their actions, they're behaving perfectly like one of us."

"Cyborgs are among us," Emmett said in a robotic tone, causing everyone to chuckle.

"There are small nuances that we as human beings have that separates us from robots, or CG people. _Everyone_ has a tell," Agent Black skipped to the next slide. It provided a case profile of the man in the brown sweater. "This was Alexander Kaminski, a Russian spy who was sent to assassinate this Russian diplomat. Why is this relevant? We protect anyone that's involved with the US government should they require or request one. It's not just the Presidential unit and you all know that."

"So, are we supposed to memorize faces of known suspects?" Mike asked the obvious question.

"No, we don't expect you to be computers with facial recognition programs. You're simply asked to do the sweep of every room that the President or anyone else you protect enters, then scan for things that are out of place. I do realize that not all of you are going to have a knack at this, which is why some of you are assigned to office work, but please understand that at a moment's notice you can all be pulled for field work."

"Yes, sir," we all stated in unison.

"Okay, so I had all your iPads loaded with a training program. It'll take someone's picture and alter it slightly. At first glance it will look like the same exact photograph, but I assure you, they are all different." Agent Black handed each of us an iPad. "So, there's your homework. Your trainer will meet with you later this afternoon for more work on the firing range."

"Hey, this is probably going to be the most useful thing I get out of this," Emmett commented. "Now I can recognize when my girlfriend is ramping up to kill me before it fully escalates."

"I feel sorry for your girlfriend," Ben shook his head as he flipped through the photographs.

"Oh, I know she is," Emmett grinned toothily, "but the make-up sex is great."

"Shut up," Ben tried to change the subject, "so is there a way someone could say, fake it to the point we can't detect it?"

Agent Black rubbed his chin, "Yeah, sure. Spies do it all the time, but they're also human. They have to let their guard down some time."

"Like that Mr. Rogers guy we saw earlier?" Emmett asked.

"It was just blind luck that a photographer snapped a picture at that exact moment, just seconds before the Service Agent did," Agent Black acknowledged. "Okay, so you guys do your homework, and I'm out of here."

"Bye," we chorused as he dashed out of the room.

"Hey, hey, Bella look," Emmett swiveled my chair around to face him. I stared at him blankly, trying to figure out what he was up to.

"What?"

"This is my happy face," he said with a stoic face, "and this is my sad face," he remained in the same stoic pose.

"You are just too much McCarthy," I rolled my eyes as I went back to studying the assignment.

"You need to let loose sometime Swan. You're like Eddie, except he has a stick up his ass half the time," he snorted.

"You shouldn't talk bad about someone who can't even defend themselves," I chided, then added, "besides, he doesn't seem like he has a stick up his ass when he talks to Mallory."

His eyes grew wide as saucers as he pulled in closer to me. "Are you serious?"

"Seems to me he talks to her enough for her to find out that his favorite scent or fruit or whatever is strawberries," I couldn't help but grow frustrated.

"Strawberries?" He pondered for a moment, "Is that why you smell like it? To get Eddie's attention?"

"What? I've always used strawberry shampoo, thank you very much. I don't have to explain myself to you," I huffed and rose to my feet.

Emmett grabbed my arm and pulled me back down. "Sorry, Rosie does say I have a bad case of the foot-in-mouth syndrome."

"I'll say," I rolled my eyes.

"But anyway, Eddie's favorite scent is the scent of his precious car, and his favorite fruit has to be grapefruit because he eats it everyday."

"Just because he consumes grapefruit everyday doesn't mean its his favorite. It's just being smart and healthy. My favorite drink isn't milk and I have it with cereal everyday." I felt like I was talking to a huge man-child.

"Say what you want. But I will say this, I have a sneaking suspicion that the strawberries are all about you," Emmett hauled himself out of his seat and left, leaving me feeling confused.

_What just happened here?_

* * *

**A/N**: Moving along. Their training classes, political ramblings, etc are all a bit necessary for what I have in store. I also have no beta, so sorry for any typos or brainfart moments.

Contemplating changing Edward's vehicle of choice. I don't really like Volvos all too much. Though the car I like today may change with every new model that's released, but I think I might chose something like the Hyundai Veloster.

Thoughts on anything? Anything confusing? Leave a comment.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Surprise its an Edward POV just because I feel like it's necessary to give his unique insight.

Twilight related things belong to S.M.

* * *

**Cross Hairs: Chapter 6 (EDWARD POV)**

* * *

Pages and pages of data scrolled through my tablet as it automatically scanned for the data I set perimeters for. I kept doing pull-ups in the doorway of my bedroom while looking at pictures on my whiteboard. The waistband of my shorts were soaked with sweat; the shirt draped over a chair, long forgotten.

Caius Volturi.

Mark "Marcus" Volturi.

Stefan Popescu.

Vladimir Popescu.

Alistair Wright.

The five men whom I identified as the top five most corrupted human beings in the world. Five men whom my father deemed guilty for the death of thousands. Specifically they were responsible for my biological mother's death.

I would destroy them one by one and avenge her. I've been trained my entire life for this. Twenty years of punishment and torture for this vendetta.

My infiltration of the Secret Service was successful, and key to getting closer to these men of power. Hacking from central command and out was easier. And it was easier to access them from the Secret Service rather than any intelligence agency. The least amount of eyes on me, the better.

"Search complete," a female computerized voice announced.

I lowered my legs and reached for a towel as I sat in my chair and flipped through the information. I had been searching for proof that Secretary of Defense Alistair Wright mass murdered an entire marine squadron in Afghanistan. It was covered up in the news as an ambush by the insurgents, but certain things didn't add up.

For instance, actual satellite images showed the squadron camped just out of a small village. They had just completed a mission successfully, and the freed villagers were celebrating with them. There were little specks of lights signaling bonfires on satellite images well into the night. However, in the satellite video released to the public, there was nothing but darkness. Even the small camp was missing. There were however slight shadows on the ground signaling people and explosions from bombs or grenades in the village.

I had been searching through backlogs of videos for days to find the exact match of the video of that supposed day, and was finally rewarded.

The video that was claimed to be the fateful day was much, much later. Father did tell me that the video that aired was entirely staged and now I had proof. The buildings in the actual video were still very much intact, while the aired video had collapsed buildings, and debris in the streets. To an untrained eye, that could be assumed to be the everyday living conditions of this particular village, but I knew that to be untrue.

I had been there fifteen years ago and had been stunned to see such clean and beautiful homes. It was the type of homes that I knew my adopted mother loved. Many in this particular village were middle class, and owned very simple yet modern homes. It really was an oasis.

I blinked to clear my memories and focused on the task at hand. Bringing about the downfall of Alistair Wright. It was my duty to punish him.

Fury drove me to throw my chance at a normal life away for this revenge that wasn't even my own. Apart from my mother, who were those people to me? It was my father who drove me relentlessly to this life.

My phone buzzed to signal a call. I sighed as I noted the caller.

Father.

I willed my fingers to unclench, the half-moon divots of my nail turned red as blood rushed back in.

"Hello father," I ran my hand through my hair then rummaged around for a shirt to throw on.

"I'm waiting for you to make the first move. Or shall I take care of it?" The frosty voice of my father raised goosebumps on my flesh.

"Be patient father. I'll take care of it. I'm just looking for more evidence to guarantee his downfall to-"

"Downfall? I expect you to silence him forever! I don't want to see that fuck breathing!" I pinched the bridge of my nose as he ranted. Father and I had our differences. I was against murdering anyone, even if it was someone who had the blood of others on their hands. In the past I played God, because I didn't know any better. Now, I saw punishment and ruining of a life to be suffice. I didn't have the right to play God and end someone's life.

A lifetime incarceration was enough for me.

"Father. I will do this _my_ way," I pushed. "Please give me the opportunity to prove myself to you."

Seconds ticked by as he debated my proposal. "Fine," and he hung up.

I glanced at the screen and saw it was nearly three in the morning. I had a consultation scheduled at noon at the White House, which meant I would miss training out with the service team.

Bella Swan. She was the first face I saw when I woke up, and the last one as I went to sleep. I smiled to myself as I undressed and stepped into the shower.

My fingers itched to comb itself through her long mahogany hair. Her skin seemed so delicate and soft. How could someone so fragile looking, be so dangerous? I chuckled to myself.

Bella Swan could never be as dangerous as I am, so I supposed she was more like an angry kitten. All fluff and no danger. She definitely wasn't innocent, I surmised. At first glance, she appeared wafish or twiggy like an adolescent. But sometimes I caught the fullness of her curves when she moved. The thought of her womanly figure had me painfully aware of my arousal.

"Goddammit," I growled as I blasted the shower on cold.

Just one more day and I could see her again. The Alistair job will have to be completed tomorrow night.

* * *

**A/N**: I kind of like Edward's POV. I may start incorporating them to provide an enhanced story-line. Or maybe not. Not too sure at this point. What do you want?

Sorry for the short chapter, but I only wanted to show about 15 minutes of Edward :)


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Another chapter because Edward's POV is too short (15min incite) to be considered one. Twilight related things belong to S.M.

* * *

**Cross Hairs: Chapter 7 (Bella's POV)**

* * *

I woke to the sound of someone relentlessly knocking on my door. A groan escaped my lips when I noted the time.

**5:37AM.**

"Swan!" Three raps on the door.

"Swan!" Another three curt knocks.

"Swan!"

"WHAT?" I shouted at the door.

"Something's happened. Get out here and watch CNN with us," the voice I now recognized as Mike Newton shouted back.

"Seriously?" I threw my hands up in disbelief but rolled out of bed anyway.

Once I shuffled into the common room, I saw the rest of the resident recruits crowded around the television.

"We are showing live coverage of the Washington Monument. The area has now been closed off to the public. More police officials have arrived on the scene. If you are just joining us now, we have been following the story of Alistair Wright found unconscious on an air-filled pool chair at the Reflecting Pool, right by the Washington Monument."

"He was found, what?" My eyes were wide with disbelief. Our Secretary of Defense was found unconscious in a floating pool chair like some fraternity party gone wrong?

"It looked like there was an envelope in his lap containing a document. We currently do not know what is in that envelope. But we will keep you informed as the news unfolds-"

I squinted at the photograph on the screen of Alistair Wright. It almost looked like he was sleeping in a pool at night. Except his hands were tied and an 8" by 11" black and white photograph was pinned to his shirt, and a yellow office envelope was in his lap.

"What the crap is this?" I asked everyone in the room.

"Who knows? But whoever did it, gets my thanks," Emmett nodded.

"That's one of our bosses McCarthy," Mike frowned, to which Emmett shrugged and walked out of the room.

"Did they say who did it?" Lauren asked as she tucked one foot under her and sat next to me on the sole couch.

"No, probably some irritated group or hippies or something," Tyler walked into our small make-shift dining area, already disinterested.

"Why are you guys walking away like this is nothing? Doesn't it bother you that someone or a group managed to snatch up Alistair Wright in the middle of the night?" I exclaimed, to which I was met with startled expressions.

"Guess this means training is over?" Lauren rolled her eyes and picked up her shower basket.

* * *

I craned my neck trying to see who would be my partner. We all sat in a row outside Special Agent Black's office, even Edward Cullen was present. He had missed two days of training, but no one seemed to have cared or noticed. He was still called a "civi" although I gladly reminded Newton that we were all civilians as well since he wasn't in the armed forces.

His bronze hair was tousled as though he stuck his head out of his car window on his drive to the office, but he was dressed impeccably sharp. I snapped my head back when I saw Tyler glance my way.

Oh god, the rumors and relentless teasing that would start if I was caught swooning over Edward.

I looked at the file in my hands and tried to calm the blush that was stamped across my face.

We were briefed a few hours ago and officially issued fire-arms (except Edward). I felt proud and safe with the added weight of my side-arm. I knew that all of us felt that way.

"Hey Bella, you're next," Ben said as he exited the room. His face looked disappointed. I wondered what happened in there.

"Thanks," I took a deep breath and felt everyone's eyes on me as I walked into Black's office.

"Close the door," Black said impatiently. "Sit."

I sat, surprised by his gruffness. I couldn't even defend myself at being talked to like a dog.

Perhaps he sensed my annoyance because he sighed and leaned back. On second glance, he looked as though he hadn't slept a wink. His tie was askew, his face had a day old beard, and his eyes had bags under them.

"Sorry. I don't mean to take it out on you, this debacle is just a giant headache," Black ran his hand over his face in an exhausted motion.

"I'm sorry Agent Black," I had no idea what else to say.

"It's Jacob or Jake," he said off-hand then tacked on, "if you'd like." His eyes popped opened as he took in my reaction. His lips pulled up into a small grin so I must have turned twenty shades of red.

"Okay," I squirmed a bit in my chair. Who wouldn't be flustered if their boss was suddenly being extra friendly towards you?

"Anyway, to the business at hand. This morning Secretary of Defense Alistair Wright was abducted and dropped off at the Reflecting Pool. I doubt news coverage got a good look at the photo that was taped to his chest," Jacob tossed an 8x11 photo in front of me.

"A satellite photo?" I bunched my eyebrows together as I tried to make out the details.

"It's from 2004. It wasn't a covert-op, but the aftermath was covered by the media," Jacob recited as though he had gone through this a million times. Which he probably had by this late-afternoon.

"So isn't this something that's more relevant to the Marine Corps or something? We don't do internal investigation. This isn't even related to fraud," I frowned as his face lit up.

"Thank god someone asked the right question. I was beginning to lose hope with you bunch," Jacob grinned at my confused expression. "Wright should be investigated by the Armed forces or by the Tribunal, but with his own background in the Marine Corps and the documents that were practically handed to us, it does make it our case. It tells us about his dabbling in fraud."

Did my eyes popped out of my head yet? I felt like they were open as wide as they could go. "This some sort of conspiracy theory? Besides, how can we just take the word of some vigilante."

"Smart girl," he patronized and I rolled my eyes. "We can't. But the CIA did some legwork for us. They back-traced the satellites and footage, and frame for frame it's correct. Even though there was miles and miles of red tape around it, we got the President's approval to open it up. As for the fraud work, it was more so a Ponzi pyramid scheme but with taxpayer dollars."

"So this vigilante was right, but it's sort of embarrassing that this person or group did our job for us. It's like airing the dirty laundry in the middle of Times Square."

"In our own backyard. I know. We checked footage from every camera in the vicinity, but the culprit was like a ghost. Or the cameras were hacked into," Jacob rubbed his temples as though trying to will a migraine away.

"So what does all this mean to me?" I asked.

"We're upping security. In fact requests are pouring in from officials. We're taking priority to Cabinet members as well as our own superiors. Local enforcement will also be running 'round the clock patrols and stake-out."

"Am I still on Jane Volturi?" I asked the obvious as she was my previous charge, but Jacob grimaced.

"I wish you were," he muttered under his breath but I heard it anyway.

"Excuse me?"

"No, you're on Caius Volturi with Agents McCarthy and Newton," Jacob sighed as he met my gaze. "Bella, please be careful."

I was taken aback by the rawness in his voice. "I-I'll try."

"No, you _will_ be careful. If this vigilante shows up at his doorstep, you shoot, and ask questions later. Okay?" Jacob demanded.

"O-okay," I stuttered. Great, when did I turn into a nervous stutterer.

"Send Crowley in."

Once out of Black's office, I motioned for Tyler to go in. Maybe I appeared nervous because Tyler gave me a confused look before he opened the door.

"How'd it go?" Edward asked. He was the last one sitting on the bench.

"It's okay," I stood awkwardly facing him, not sure if I should sit and chat or walk away.

"Looks like all of you were handed a bitter cup of coffee. The looks on your faces," he chuckled as he supposedly mimicked my own.

"Shut up Cullen," I rolled my eyes. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Black wants to go over some footage and determine how this vigilante gained access then meet with the CIA," he shrugged his shoulders as though it was nothing.

He seemed so confident, calm, handsome, and... that cocky bastard. He had smirked at me as he caught me gazing at his body. Crap.

"Must be nice to be someone so important," I said sarcastically as I started to walk away.

"So do you think that this vigilante is dangerous?" Edward's voice was suddenly behind me and I flinched.

"N-no," I paused to think about it. "From what Black told me, this vigilante or group of vigilantes, since there's no way one person could orchestrate this on their own, did the world a favor."

A brief look of surprised passed across Edward's face. It was so quick I wasn't sure if I had imagined it or not.

"Bella, a vigilante is a vigilante. Someone who operates outside of the law. In other words, someone who is dangerous," he inched closer without realizing it. I hadn't even realized it until I took an involuntary step back. His green eyes were flashing.

"So? If it wasn't for the them, who knows how much more Wright could have gotten away with? How many more lives he would have ruined? I wouldn't be surprised if he killed people," I ranted before I realized what he said. I clamped my mouth shut with my hand in surprise.

A door began to open and Edward was in his seat again. How did he move so quickly?

"Hey Cullen, Black wants to see you," Tyler motioned for him to go in.

"Be safe," Edward murmured as he brushed past me.

* * *

"Are you Miss Bella Swan?" A gravelly voice broke me out of my thoughts. I had arrived at the residence of Caius Volturi for the evening. Mike Newton had just left, leaving me with Emmett.

"Yes, Sir," I acted as professionally as possible, although I could note the disdain in his voice. Add the fact that he didn't address me as an agent, and I knew he was going to be a complete asshole.

"Sending a girl," Caius huffed. "Might as well just hand me over to those damn vigilantes."

"I will do my best to protect you sir. It is my duty-" I began but was cut off.

"Get me a coffee," he snapped before sitting before his desk.

If I was a cartoon I'm sure steam would have been pouring out of my ears. Emmett gave me a slight sympathetic shrug before I whipped around and marched out of Caius Volturi's study.

"That self-righteous sexist son of a bitch. Fuckity fuck fuck!" I whispered to myself as I stomped around the kitchen.

"Here you go dear," a beautiful blonde woman, who I recognized as Athena or Athenodora Volturi, handed me a cup of steaming coffee.

"Thank you Mrs Volturi," I gratefully took the cup in a small serving tray and marched back toward's Caius' study. I can't say I marched back since I walked slowly as though I was walking on a tight-rope. I knew I was a klutz sometimes especially if I was infuriated, and I didn't want to spill anything on what looked like an expensive Persian rug.

"What took you so long?" Caius snapped as I set the cup on his right while biting my lip to restrain several choice words for him. He took a taste, with a wary look that assumed he would be cursing at me at the horrible taste but his face relaxed. Placated that something had gone right.

I would definitely have to ask Caius' wife how to specifically brew his coffee if I were to detail him everyday. After that hurdle, Caius immersed himself in paperwork while Emmett and I stood by the door.

Every once in awhile Caius would look up at us and scowl. Sometimes I wondered how such a beautiful and kind woman could stay with such a pig. It didn't matter to me that Caius Volturi was a judge in the Supreme Court. He was a judgmental bastard. If this was his behavior at his job, we were screwed. I wouldn't doubt it if he had a shady side to him. Or at least a dirty past.

It was well into the night when Caius finally set his glasses down and massaged his temples.

"Working hard? Or hardly working?" Emmett whispered and I gasped at him in response.

To my surprise Caius chuckled. "Young man, if I didn't work hard, our government would fall apart."

"I didn't mean anything by it sir," Emmett gaped.

Caius waved it off. "I apologize to you Agent Swan. This most recent case is just a giant headache, and I apologize for lashing out at you. My deepest apologies."

"It was nothing sir," I shared a look with Emmett. Was this guy bipolar?

"Well I bid you both adieu I will be taking to my bed," Caius gathered his paperwork and put it in a safe in his desk.

"Good-night sir," we both responded then tailed him out to the living room.

"That was weird," Emmett said as he slumped down into the leather recliner.

"Yeah. Hey, have you met his wife?" I took a seat adjacent to him and leaned back. My legs felt sore.

"Complete hottie. Nothing like Rosie but, definitely a MILF," he chuckled.

"Shut up," I whispered as I tossed a throw pillow at him.

"Did you want to catch a nap first?" He put the throw pillow behind his head as he got comfortable.

"Well, you seem like you're not going to give me a choice," I retorted but was answered by a soft snore.

* * *

**A/N**: Yay, done! Leave a comment if you would like to know anything, or have a suggestion for something.


End file.
